Case Study – Gully Monitoring Sensors

Gully Monitoring Sensors – A Smart City Case Study

Flooding is a frequent concern in Dublin, with rainfall and blocked drains increasingly disrupting daily life. To directly address this challenge, Dublin City Council (DCC) launched an innovative Gully Monitoring Project that provides a smart urban solution that uses sensor technology to monitor water levels in street drains (known as gullies) in real time.

This initiative began in 2017 as part of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Programme, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland. The goal was to find faster and more effective ways to detect and respond to flooding. Several companies were invited to trial sensor-based systems that could alert city teams when gullies were blocked or overwhelmed.

These sensors detect rising water levels and send alerts in real-time via email or mobile notifications. They are designed to be durable, with long battery life and easy installation. The data they collect is visualised on an intuitive online dashboard, helping city engineers quickly identify problem areas and respond before flooding becomes severe.

The project is expanding and DCC is deploying 250 sensors across the city, joining 12 other local authorities in scaling up this smart flood prevention system. This will streamline emergency responses, improve maintenance planning, and help predict future flooding risks using historical data.

For residents, this means better protection for homes, businesses, and public spaces. For city planners, it means smarter resource use and more informed decision-making. And for Dublin as a whole, it’s a step toward becoming a more resilient, tech-enabled city.

To learn more about smart technology case studies in Dublin, contact us at info@smartdocklands.ie!